Thunder

Thunder in the distance,
barely audible.
So quiet I can pretend I don’t hear it.

Almost.

I sit in my beach chair
and the impending darkness
feels as benign as the shade from a palm tree.

Mostly.

I wonder sometimes how much longer I can ride this rollercoaster.
If perhaps a life of watching trains go by,
would have been a better fit.

I can bear the thunder
when I can pretend it’s the roar of the mighty locomotive
passing on to unknown destinations.

Yet true thunder still rolls in.